“Anastasia” is an example of ‘50s studio moviemaking at its solid best
– the actors are dead serious, the costumes are gorgeous, the music is
sweeping, the script is a triumph of craftsmanship over lifelikeness,
it’s all a bit over the top, and somehow it works perfectly.

Based on Marcelle Maurette’s play, “Anastasia” takes its premise from
an actual historical incident. After Tsar Nicholas was deposed in the
Russian Revolution, he and the Russian Royal Family were executed, but
it has been rumored that one daughter, Anastasia, escaped. The film,
scripted by Arthur Laurents from an adaptation by Guy Bolton, opens in
1928 Paris, where a trio of formerly royal Russians, now reduced to con
artistry, having been living off the proceeds of getting their fellow
exiled countrymen to invest in a search for Anastasia. However, the
plug is about to be pulled in the scam and the gentlemen are about to
be thrown in jail for fraud. The only solution is to get someone to
impersonate Anastasia – there’s an added bonus, as if she can “prove”
to the dowager Empress (Helen Hayes) that she’s the real princess, she
inherits $10 million. The leader of the group, Bounine (Yul Brynner),
has heard about a woman released from a mental institution who for
awhile thought she was Anastasia. He finds the lady in question (Ingrid
Bergman) on the verge of suicide. Even she isn’t sure who she is,
although she mistrusts her new sponsors. For Bounine’s part, he’s a
thorough skeptic. Even so, some details of “Anna’s” story ring oddly
true, and Bounine starts to privately wonder if it could possibly be
real – but will the Empress believe the woman? More importantly, what
does “Anna” herself believe?

As the screenplay and the characters are already sharply aware of the
potential for melodrama, “Anastasia” is much shrewder than one might
imagine going in – it comments intelligently on itself as it moves
along. Bergman is so absolutely vulnerable that she winds up being
enormously affecting, though (a matter of personal taste) the chemistry
between her and Brynner that’s supposed to convince us they’re falling
for each other doesn’t really materialize. Intriguingly, this aspect of
the movie tends not to matter very much, as Bergman has great chemistry
with Hayes, who is lives up to the empress’s reputation as a dignified
powerhouse.

The 20th Century Fox DVD team has done a truly praiseworthy job on
restoring the print for this edition. Should anyone doubt the level of
improvement, the special features include a split screen side-by-side
comparison of the original 1991 print transfer with this 1997 edition,
with the left-hand side of the screen showing the faded, glitch-marred
earlier version and the right-hand side displaying the bright, crisp
images of the version on the disc. Reds and pinks are especially vivid,
and edges are clean and clear.

As for the sound, the movie was made in 1956, which translates to,
don’t expect too much, although given its limitations, “Anastasia”
boasts a very good soundtrack. (The 3.5 stars rating indicates that the
restorers did excellent work given the age of their materials.) While
the box advertises a 4.0 mix, the center channel is in fact engaged as
well – it’s only the subwoofer in a 5.1 system that is not utilized.
Dialogue scenes play in the center and mains, with the rears kicking in
whenever composer Alfred Newman’s score swells. Chapter 12 does have a
nicely realistic horse carriage foley effect.

Extras on the disc include a very informative and passionately
enthusiastic commentary track from film historian Sylvia Stoddard, who
talks both about the movie’s background and the world history that
informs the storyline, writer Arthur Laurents, who has plenty of
anecdotes, Helen Hayes’ son actor James MacArthur and movie music
expert John Burlingame. Burlingame’s comments will be of particular
interest to audiophiles, as he speaks knowledgeably about both the
particulars of “Anastasia’s” score and the world of film scoring in
general. The disc also includes the “Biography” special on the real
Anastasia – a helpful inclusion for those who would like to know more –
and some ancient newsreel footage of the real Anastasia, her father the
Tsar and the rest of her family.

Director Anatole Litvak creates a sense of cinematic spectacle, even
while he maintains a theatrical sense of pacing and performance – we
admire shot compositions while still having an emotional experience
that is closer to something more often inspired by stage plays than
film. Seen today, “Anastasia” is intriguing and fairly moving, just in
a way that is different from what we usually associate with movie
dramas.

more details

sound format:

English 4.0 Surround; French Mono; Spanish Mono

aspect ratio(s):

2.35:1

special features:

Audio
Commentary Track with Screenwriter Arthur Laurents, Film Historian
Sylvia Stoddard, Film Music Expert John Burlingame and James MacArthur;
“Biography” Special on Anastasia Romanov; Movietone Newsreels of Film
Premieres; Footage of Actual Romanov Family; Print Restoration
Comparison; Theatrical Trailer; English and Spanish Subtitles; English
Closed-Captioning